Electronic Arts Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NASDAQ:EA)

Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Monday. Stock investors purchased 7,942 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 32% compared to the average volume of 6,011 call options.

Electronic Arts Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ EA opened at $146.52 on Tuesday. Electronic Arts has a fifty-two week low of $117.47 and a fifty-two week high of $153.51. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $146.40 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $137.65. The company has a market capitalization of $38.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 1.45 and a current ratio of 1.45.

Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The game software company reported $0.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.03 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $1.26 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.21 billion. Electronic Arts had a net margin of 15.77% and a return on equity of 16.34%. Analysts expect that Electronic Arts will post 5.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Electronic Arts Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 28th will be issued a $0.19 dividend. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 28th. Electronic Arts’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.24%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EA has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Benchmark increased their target price on Electronic Arts from $153.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Electronic Arts from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Roth Mkm upped their price target on shares of Electronic Arts from $135.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Raymond James upped their price target on shares of Electronic Arts from $155.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Electronic Arts in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $165.00 price target for the company. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $161.28.

Insider Buying and Selling at Electronic Arts

In other Electronic Arts news, CEO Andrew Wilson sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.26, for a total transaction of $350,650.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 61,747 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,660,634.22. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Andrew Wilson sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.26, for a total value of $350,650.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 61,747 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,660,634.22. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Vijayanthimala Singh sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.70, for a total transaction of $151,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 30,190 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,579,823. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 27,070 shares of company stock valued at $3,963,638 in the last 90 days. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Electronic Arts

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EA. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Electronic Arts during the 2nd quarter worth $749,000. Ariadne Wealth Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Electronic Arts during the 2nd quarter valued at $506,000. Advisory Alpha LLC lifted its stake in shares of Electronic Arts by 41.6% during the 2nd quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC now owns 3,169 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $442,000 after buying an additional 931 shares in the last quarter. Old North State Trust LLC lifted its stake in shares of Electronic Arts by 11.2% during the 2nd quarter. Old North State Trust LLC now owns 1,679 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $234,000 after buying an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its stake in shares of Electronic Arts by 6.9% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 5,111 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $712,000 after buying an additional 332 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.23% of the company’s stock.

Electronic Arts Company Profile

Electronic Arts Inc develops, markets, publishes, and distributes games, content, and services for game consoles, PCs, mobile phones, and tablets worldwide. It develops and publishes games and services across various genres, such as sports, racing, first-person shooter, action, role-playing, and simulation primarily under the Battlefield, The Sims, Apex Legends, Need for Speed, and license games from others, including FIFA, Madden NFL, UFC, and Star Wars brands.